Center of Darkness
by JestieX
Summary: This is a fic based in the FFXI world and is also my first fic so any reviews/suggestions would help. Chapter one is up and two will follow shortly.


Center of Darkness   
  
By  
  
Jestie A. Worley  
*Authors note I own nothing except for the  
Character Karn whom I made up. Everything else belongs  
to the great People at Squaresoft.   
  
  
Prologue  
  
This Prologue is based six monthes before the great  
confrontation between good and evil that that nearly  
tore the world apart.   
  
  
The meeting was to be held in the  
darkest recesses of the earth, leaders of the dark  
revolution were arriving every few minutes. One  
however drew dark and wary glances from even the most  
evil of the meetings' participants. The man was known  
as Karn Duskaith he was not an ugly man nor was he  
what anyone would call handsome he had a look about  
him that told any and everyone that he was not the  
type to be fooled with. He had long dark hair and fair  
skin and eyes cold as ice, he was considered highly  
sadistic in nature though there was some dispute as to  
whether the man was merely insane or if he chose his  
specialty without insanity playing a part in his  
choice. Though his colleagues despised him, personally  
they respected his rationale and coolness under fire.  
Karn was a Black Mage of the highest and darkest  
order. He owned many slaves and thoroughly enjoyed  
dismembering them while they still lived, sometimes  
with magic sometimes without. This was a man with a  
heart of stone,who killed indiscriminately he cared  
not whether his victims where young or old, man or  
woman, ugly or beautiful.   
  
The meeting he was attending was one of many as  
of late, the members of the board where there to  
discuss their recent defeat by the united paladins of  
Vana'diel, a division of soldiers formed by the  
nations of San'doria, Bastok, and Windurst that was  
funded by Jeunos. Only the Highest ranking officials  
of the Dark order where allowed to participate though  
leaders of dark communities where charged to represent  
their respective peoples views. The highest ranking  
official of the Dark order was there to begin the  
meeting he was know as Elder Chance. "Well then lets  
begin this meeting with a recitation of the last  
minutes of our previous meeting." Elder Chance said in  
a raspy voice that more than anything presented his  
true age and grief to all present. "Recorder read them  
back to us!" He shouted at the recorder, who although  
it was a meeting of great gravity found it dull enough  
to nap in. The recorder woke with a start and read to  
them the final minutes of their last meeting. "Well  
Elder Chance came up with a plan for using the  
crystals of our world to draw the earths energy into  
an able bodied and capable Black Mage who would be  
able to work a spell spoken of in our legends which  
could completely Obliterate a large army." "It was  
decided that during this meeting there would be two  
votes one two decide three Mages and the other to  
decide which of those three would be our spell caster  
and the carrier of our orders fate." The recorder  
spoke in a solemn tone for even he knew that this  
meeting was one who's decision could mean life or  
death for him and all of his fellows.   
  
The Elder seeing the the recorder was finished  
with his report spoke with a grim tone "Now then I  
need not tell you that the decision made by this  
council will decide all our fates." "Our vote will be  
cast as secret ballets both times, each of you has two  
pieces of parchment in front you, the first vote is  
two choose three Mages whom you believe would be  
befitting for the afore mentioned job." "You may begin  
now." Parchment rustled as quill meet paper and the  
Mages fought with themselves to decide who to place  
their great burden on. When the vote where tallied the  
three men where asked to leave their seats and stand  
in front of their equals for the final vote. Karn not  
surprisingly was among the chosen three besides him  
where two other exceptional mages Flavius Smith and  
Publius Erickson. Yet again the council voted and when  
votes where tallied Karn was chosen to accept the  
crystals energy and cast the spell that would free  
them from the tyranny of good, and forever allow their  
people to practice their dark art without scrutiny and  
being considered distasteful.   
  
The meeting was adjourned and once everyone  
except themselves had left, Elder Chance led Karn to a  
darkened secret passage way that would take them even  
deeper into the earth to a place that had not been  
visited for centuries. "Well I suppose your pretty  
proud of yourself Karn." "Your to be trusted with our  
very future in this world." "I assure you Elder I am  
as confident in this as I am in my own ability." "A  
response worthy of you Karn." The elder replied almost  
jovially. Deep down the Elder though he would never  
admit it had a grudging respect for this man who was  
younger than he, by thirty years at least. "Ah here we  
are." The elder exclaimed. Karn looking around could  
see nothing around him except rock wall. The Elder  
stretched out his left hand made a counter clockwise  
circular motion with it and suddenly the wall in front  
of them melted away like a child's ice cream left in  
the sun. "Nice parlor trick Elder." Karn said snidely.  
"Hush now Karn in the room we are about to enter lies  
the greatest of our races secrets you will be the  
first person to read these secret texts in many  
years." "Behave yourself for this room and what lies  
therein is considered holy to our kind and evil to our  
enemies to us it promises unending power and to them a  
crippling blow that will surely mean the end." "What  
ever you say Elder I'll behave myself."  
  
Karns first steps into, what was  
essentially a vast library, were shaky to his great  
displeasure, though he soon mastered himself. "It  
certainly is dusty in here elder." He said. "Well what  
could you have expected Karn?" I did tell you it has  
been left alone for quite some time now,didn't I?  
Chance replied. "Ah save it old man." Just tell me  
where to start." The elder directed Karn over to a  
large oaken desk where upon lied a book of  
unfathomable age. "Is this it?" Karn asked the elder  
who simply nodded his head. "Allright elder but I have  
one question for you." "What's in it for me?" The  
elder smiled and shook his head. "I expected you would  
want to know that." "If you succeed you will be  
granted access to all record here in." When chance  
noticed Karns expression Chance added. "I'm sure their  
are books in here that detail torture methods you've  
never even dreamed of Karn." Karn thought on this. "Ok  
you've got yourself a deal Chance."   
  
In little time Karn began to learn the spell  
that would break the shackles that binded his people,  
and which would destroy their nemises . The going for  
him however was slow and tedious at first, it was like  
no other spell he had attemted and he soon began to  
realize what elder chance and the councilors neglected  
to mention to him before the vote. The casting of this  
spell would leave karn a man drained completely soul  
and all, it was a suicide mission and they had picked  
their least favorite man to do the job. From that day  
on though he kept a proper attitude whenever elder  
chance or any of the other members came to see how he  
was doing. However whenever Karn had a minute alone he  
devoted it to devising a plan that would free him from  
the fate his "peers" had designed for him. Just the  
mear demonstrations of the spell he learned to be  
named Crystalius Destructus were very taxing not only  
on his mind, but also on his body. Two weeks before  
the arranged battle with The Palidins of Van'diel Karn  
had an escape plan he had already put into action.  
Karn had found a book inside the library that detailed  
the White mages' spell teleport in a text that was  
obviously meant to tutor a pupil of the white arts.  
Karn however being a black mage would be unable to  
perform a spell that harnessed light,  
so he meticulously worked to turn it into a spell that  
would instead respond to dark powers.   
  
Three days before the battle with the Palidins Karn  
was able to teleport himself to the libraries private  
lavatory and back with only a little effort. Two days  
before the battle he was able to transport himself to  
his Vila five miles away with no effort involved at  
all and to bring things back and forth books and such.  
The day before their plight Elder chance and the rest  
of the councilors came to speak with Karn about his  
confidence in the spell he had spent months learning.  
Karn qeulled any of their misgiving by performing the  
spell at only one milionth of its full  
power,destroying a row of book cases and turning them  
to ashes. Elder Chanceand the rest of the council left  
the meeting jovially confident in their iminent  
victory over the enemy. Karn knowing that he would not  
be disturbed again for another few hours teleported  
himself back to the villa to spend the night with his  
favorite slave a female named Marcelona. Afterwards he  
told here that being his most faithful sevent he knew  
she would not speak of his plan and in return for her  
silence he would set here free to do as she pleased.  
Marcelona was the first and last of his slaves to be  
set free, after she had left the villa and was out of  
site of Karns window he locked all the doors in his  
home with the only key to the house then he proceeded  
to set his home of ten years afire along with all of  
his servents and slaves trapped inside,he stayed as  
long as he could stand the heat of the fire and left  
when he could not. He teleported back to the library  
once more where he gathered five books that fascinated  
him and telported out of the library to Merlin knows  
where.  
  
The morning of the battle Elder Chance sent a  
young paige to summon Karn to the Elders quarters. The  
paige returned saying that Karn was not in the library  
nor his own quarters. For all the planing and  
dependence on the spell Karn had been designated to  
cast, only the councilors knew of its existence their  
plans had not been voiced to their masses. Because of  
that Elder chance knew that the loss of the spell  
would not be a hit to their peoples moral. They would  
go into battle as planed and they would fight with all  
of their might. The Dark Order fell that day, and  
after wards the only person who knew of Karns betrayal  
was the slave Marcelona who lived the rest of her  
short life fearing for her life and the life of the  
child she bore in her womb, the child a devil. 


End file.
